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SCAFFOLDS

  1.  Introduction
    1. Our Company recognizes that the employees are our most valuable asset and the most important contributors to our continued growth and success. Our company is firmly committed to the safety of our employees. ESCO Group will do everything possible to prevent workplace accidents and is committed to providing a safe working environment for all employees. To further this goal ESCO Group has revised this policy effective 1/1/09.
  2.  Purpose
    1.  To maintain a safe and productive workplace, we have implemented this workplace policy. To provide scaffold use systematically and reliably at all appropriate construction locations throughout the project. All scaffolds built and used on a project shall meet the OSHA Standard Subpart L 1926-450.
  3. Guidelines
    1.  Scaffolds shall be erected, moved, dismantled, or altered only under the supervision and direction of a competent person qualified in scaffold erection. The qualified person(s) shall be the only one to perform such activities; all others may be subject to discipline, up to and including termination.
    2. Scaffolds and scaffold components shall be inspected for visible defects by a competent person before each work shift, periodically throughout the shift, and after any occurrence which could affect a scaffold’s structural integrity. The red, yellow, and green tag system will be utilized.
    3. Scaffolds shall be RED tagged “DO NOT USE” while being erected.
    4. A RED “DO NOT USE” scaffold tag must be placed on the scaffold when defective equipment or conditions are found.
    5. In the event a scaffold or platform cannot be erected in accordance with the standards, (handrails, toe boards, and missing components i.e. not a complete scaffold), the scaffold shall be tagged with a yellow tag stating 100% fall protection required.
    6. A green-tagged scaffold means that the scaffold meets all OSHA requirements and is safe for use. The tag is to be attached at the point of access on the scaffold.
    7. After any alterations or modifications are made to a scaffold they shall be re-inspected and tagged before use.
    8. Employee shall not be on a scaffold while it is being moved.
    9. Ladders or makeshift work platforms such as wooden boxes or blocks shall not be used on a scaffold to increase the working height level for employees.
    10. Debris shall not be allowed to accumulate on scaffolds and material should not be stacked above the toe board.
    11. Employees shall not be allowed to work on or from scaffolds with snow, ice or other slippery material, except to clear such material.
    12. Employees shall not work from scaffolds during high winds or storms unless it has been determined safe by the competent person. Wind or weather screens shall not be attached to scaffolds unless it has been approved by the scaffold competent person.
    13. Scaffolds shall not be erected, used, dismantled, altered or moved such that they or any conductive material handled on them might come closer to exposed and energized power lines. The clearance between scaffolds and power lines shall be as follows:
      1. Insulated Lines
        1. Voltage
          1. Less than 300 volts
            1. 3 feet
          2. 300 volts to 50kV
            1. 10 feet
          3. More than 50kV
            1. 10 feet plus 0.4 inches for each 1 kV over 50 kV
            2. 2 times the length of the line insulator but never less than 10 feet
      2. Un-insulated Lines
        1. Voltage
          1. Less thank 50kV
            1. 10 feet
          2. More than 50kV
            1. 10 feet plus 0.4 inches for each 1kV over 50kV
            2. 2 times the length of the lines insulator but never less than 10 feet
  4. Access
    1. When scaffold platforms are more than 2 feet above or below a point of access, portable ladders, hook-on ladders, attachable ladders, stair towers, stairway type ladders, ramps, walkways, integral prefabricated scaffold access, personal hoist or similar surface shall be used to access a scaffold.
    2. Cross braces shall not be used for means of access.
  5. Fall Protection
    1.  Each employee on a scaffold ten (10) feet or more above a lower level shall be protected from falling to that lower level by the use of a personal fall arrest system or a guardrail system that meets the criteria for guardrails.
    2. Personal fall arrest systems used on scaffolds shall be attached by a lanyard to a vertical lifeline, horizontal lifeline, or scaffold structural member.
  6. Falling Object Protection
    1. In addition to wearing hard hats, each employee on a scaffold shall be provided with additional protection from falling hand tools, debris, and other small objects through the installation of toe boards, screens, or guardrails systems, or through the erection of debris nets, catch platforms or canopy structures that contain or deflect the falling objects.
    2. If the scaffold is not erected with above falling object protection the area below the scaffold where objects can fall shall be barricaded, and employees shall not be permitted to enter the hazard area.
  7. Capacities
    1. Scaffold and scaffold components shall not be loaded in excess of their maximum intended loads or rated capacities, whichever is less.
    2. This information will have to come from the erectors, the specification on the type of scaffold that is built (light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty), and the rated capacities.
  8. Training
    1.  Each employee who performs work while on a scaffold shall be trained by a person qualified in the subject matter to recognize the hazards associated with the type of scaffold being used and to understand the procedures required to control or minimize those hazards. The training shall include the following areas, as applicable:
    2. The nature of any electrical hazards, fall hazards, fall protection, and falling object hazards in the work area.
    3. Proper use of the scaffold and the proper handling of materials on the scaffold.
    4. Maximum intended load and the load-carrying capacities of the scaffolds used.
    5. Retraining is required but is not limited to the following situations: When there is a change at the Jobsite that presents a hazard about which the employee has not been trained, where changes in the types of scaffolds, fall protection, falling object protection, or other equipment present a hazard about which the employee has not been trained, and where inadequacies in an employee’s work practices involving scaffolds indicate that the employee has not retained the requisite proficiency.

Scaffold Tags